Aeroplane.



W. S. EATON.

AEROPLANEL APPLICATION FILED JULY 20. 1911.

Patented Jan. 7, 1919.

3 SHEETS SHEET l- INVENTOR. Warren Jlaiww.

ATTORNEYS m mma W. S. EATON.

AEROPLANE. 7

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20. 1917. Patenied Jan. 7

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INVENTOR Warren (Ila/10m.

W. S. EATON.

AEROPLANE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 20. 191] Patented J an. 7, 1919.

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lllllllll .irAl I ull INVENTOR ATTREYS operation of rudder control.

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annorLA-nn Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 7, 1M9.

Application filed July 20, 1917. Serial No. 181,820.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WARREN S. EATON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention, which generically has reference to improvements in aeroplanes, is more particularly designed for presenting improved means for stabilizing and in other respects controlling the aeroplanes, while in flight.

As is well known in air craft of the type stated, when flying, the machine is kept under balance or upright by flexing or warping the ends of the planes or otherwise increasing the angle of incidence of the plane surfacefon the air for producing the desired lateral direction, with or without the co- One of the objects of my invention is to providecertain improvements in air craft, wings or planes past which the air flow from the back to the front is capable of variation by the aviator, while flying, and by which the said air flow may be quickly and positively effected with a degree of certainty in adjusting the planes for balancing the machine, especially at times when it is subjected to unexpected gusts of wind from any direction.

Another object of my invention is to provide in an aeroplane, certain improvements in the nature of supplemental planes or wings that cooperate with the main planes or wings and are capable of being quickly and positively manipulated by the aviator for efl'ecting the desired stabilizing or lateral control of the machine, without bending, warping or. in any manner changing the condition of the main wings or planes, in order to vary the angle of incidence of portions of the main plane surfaces to produce the required turning movement of the plane about the longitudinal axis of the machine, and for reducing head resistance to the minimum. a

With other objects in yiew that will here: inafter appear, my invention embodies, in an aeroplane structure, the peculiar combination and novel arrangement of the parts presently fully explained, specifically p01Ilt-= ed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying. drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an aeroplane structure that embodies my invention.

Fig. 2 is afront elevation thereof, the supplemental wings or planes being shown in the central or neutral position.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of one of the main planes and the cooperating supplemental wing or plane, the latter being shown positioned in the middle or neutral position.

Fig. 5 is a similar view, the supplemental plane being indicated at the elevated positionfor decreasing the lift.

Fig. 6 is a similar view, the supplemental wing or plane being positioned for increasing the lift, the lines of air pressure when the Wing is thus positioned being indicated in broken lines, like indications also appearing on Figs. 5 and 6.

Fig. is a perspective view of one of the supplemental wings or planes, a portion of the main plane to which it is attached and portions of the operating gear.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section taken on the lines 88 on Fig. 1 and illustrates diagrammatically the wing or vane shifting gear.

Fig. 9 shows the lever connection that is mounted in the cock pit.

In the drawings, I have shown a simple type of aeroplane in which is embodied an u per plane 10 and a lower plane 17 suita 1y braced to form a rigid plane frame, by vertical standards, lateral braces, and guy rods, as is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

In my construction of aeroplane, the upper or main plane 10, the longitudinal shape of which is best shown in Figs. 4:, 5 and 6, has attached to each endthereof, a supple mental plane or wing section, hereinafter termed the deflector planes 1-1, and each .of the said deflector planes 11 is of such dimensions asmay be found necessary.

1]. denotes the cock pit, 12 the body, 13.

one of the deflector planes and the gear connections that operatively join it with the main plane will be.. sufiicient.

The gear connections, operable by the aviator, comprise a rock shaft 4 which extends transversely of the body 12, suitably journaled along the front edge of the main plane 10, extends approximately the full width thereof, as is best shown in Fig. 1, from which it will also be seen that midway its ends, the rock shaft carries a pair of cranks 40-41, one 40 of which operates the deflector planeat one side, and the other 41 operates the deflector plane at the other side and the said cranks 4H1 are each joined by a link connection with a rocking lever 7 suitably mounted on the body and connected to a control lever 9 located in the cock pit 11 for being conveniently handled by the aviator.

The deflector plane 1 is so connected with the main plane 10 that it moves parallelly to .itself at all times as it rises or falls, when shifted by the aviator, and to that end, a connection is provided which is preferably as follows :The said deflector plane 1 has a pair of longitudinal slots P-l that register with a pair of like slots 10"10 in the front ed e of the main plane 10.

In each of t e two alining slots 1"*-1 move a pair of combined connecting and bracing levers 3-30, one of which is fixedly connected to the rock shaft 4 and has a pivotal connection at the other end 31 with the deflector plane 1. The other lever 30 is pivotally connected at the outer end to the deflector plane 1 and its inner end 32 is likewise connec to the main lane 10, the several pivotal connections of t e brace lever withthe rock shaft 4 and the planes 1 and 10 being normally in a neutral position as shown in full lines on Fig. 4, and by reason of such pivotal relation of the brace levers with the plane 1 and the-said shaft 4:, the plane 1 is maintained in a position parallel to itself as it is vertically shifted, and by reason thereof, the horizontal line of travel of the machine is not disturbed during the operation of shifting the deflector plane 1 up or down for effecting the desired lateral stabilizing or control. Any other parallel motion connection may be used.

From the foregoin taken in connection with the drawings, t e construction of my invention, the manner of its operation and the advantages thereof will be readily ap parent to those skilled in the art to which 111% sald inventlon alppertains.

t will be notice the deflector planes 1-1 in my construction extendv along the main plane but a short distance from each end, and by reason thereof little or no head resistance beyond that usually encountere is thereby created When the machine. is in flight, there is air .below the neutral, as indicated. on Fi Should the machine tip to either side,-

the said deflection from the horizontal plane 1s corrected by manipulating the lever 9 so that the deflector plane on the downwardly tipplng side is dropped in a plane The pressure of air: on the under the downwardly tipping side of the plane is now increased (and the pressure on the top side is decreased) as indicated by the arrow on Fig. 6, and the pressure on top of the planes at the other or higher side, is relatively increased (and the pressure on the bottom side is decreased) by reason of the deflection of the air pressure, as indicated by the arrows on Fig. .5 nd further by reason of the manner in whlch the deflector planes are geared up with the aviators lever, the restoring f the equilibrium to the machine can be rendered gentle and gradual under variable manipulations of the aviatorslever 9.

By varying the position'of the deflector Planes to the angle of incidence of the sustainin plane to the air .flow is chang thus elther increasing or decreasing the lift on that portion of the plane afl'ected without in any way changing any portion of the mam sustaining plane with regard to the other fiortions thereof.

In t e drawings is shown in diagrammatic manner, a practical arrangement of an aeroplane in which my invention is embodled ut I desire it understood that the exact details may be varied or modified from that shown in the drawings without departing from my invention as comes within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an air craft, the combination with a main plane; of a deflector planelocated at h end and in front of the main plane and aviator controlled gearing for maintain ng the said deflector planes in a neutral position in the plane of the said main plane, and any planes 1parallel to its neutral position above and be ow the said main plane.

2. In an air craft,'the combination with a main plane; of a deflector plane located at each end and in front of the main plane,

an aviator controlled gear for maintaining the sald deflector planes at all times in a plane parallel to their neutral position with the main plane and for simultaneously 1mparting movement to the said deflector planes above and below the main plane.

3. In an air craft, the combination with a main plane; of a deflector plane located at each end and in front of the main-plane, an aviator controlled 'gear for maintaining the said deflector planes at all time in a plane iii; of.

aeoaae parallel to their neutral position with the main plane and for simultaneously im arting movement to the said deflector anes aboveand below the main plane, the said deflector'planes being relatively connected for moving in harmony and in alternate direction.

4. In an aeroplane, the combination with the main plane, a horizontally disposed de-' flector lane located at each .end and in front 0 the main plane, said two deflector planes being connected for operating in harmony in alternate direction to positions above and belowthe main plane and gearing controlled by the aviator for adjusting the said deflector lanes parallel to themselves in unison wit out disturbing the horizontal direction of flight of the machine.

5. In an aeroplane, the combination with the main plane, a horizontally dis osed defiector plane located at each end an in front of the main plane, gearing controlled 'by said shaft having a pair of cranks, one for each deflector plane, and brace levers Eivotally connecting the main and the do ector planes and other levers pivotally connecting the rock shaft and the deflector planes.

'6; An air craft main plane having attached means for deflecting the air flow past the outer ends thereof, said means consisting of a plane surface shiftable in a plane parallel to itself and without changing the orizontal direction of fli ht of the said main plane during the shi gof the said deflecting means 1n planes'a'bove or below the main plane. v

a S. EATON. 

